All three public hospitals in north Gaza have been put "out of service", the Hamas-run health ministry has said, as Israel continues its offensive to seize areas of the territory.

The ministry said on Sunday Israeli forces had besieged the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, "with heavy fire... preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies".

The hospital was the last in the north to be operating, it said.

Israel's military on Saturday announced the launch of "Operation Gideon's Chariot", amid the deadliest wave of strikes in Gaza in months.

Hamas offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian official told the BBC after new negotiations were held on Saturday.

The health ministry said on Sunday: "After the destruction of Beit Hanoun Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital being put out of service, all public hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service."

Authorities have identified the suspect in a deadly car blast that targeted a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California as Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old man they said "had nihilistic ideations".

The FBI said they believe he is the sole fatality in the incident.

They said on Sunday that he detonated explosives outside the clinic and tried to livestream the attack, but investigators are still piecing together his movements before the explosion.

The blast happened just before 11:00 local time (19:00 BST) on Saturday, less than a mile from downtown Palm Springs, near several businesses including the American Reproductive Centers (ARC). The clinic said no-one from the facility was harmed.

The FBI had called the attack an "intentional act of terrorism". They believe the suspect deliberately targeted the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) facility. They added they are reviewing a manifesto they believe is linked to Bartkus.

Police said Bartkus is a resident of Twentynine Palms, home to a large marine base about an hour away from Palm Springs.

The FBI has executed a search warrant on his residence in Twentynine Palms, they said. Nearby residents had been evacuated.

Police stressed that there is no on-going threat to the public, both at the site of the blast and near the suspect's home.

The blast was a result of a large vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, law enforcement sources told BBC's US partner CBS News.

Akil Davis, the FBI's assistant director in the Los Angeles field office, said the suspect used a 2010 silver Ford Fusion sedan in the attack.

Mr Davis said the FBI is still looking for the public's help to piece together the suspect's whereabouts before the blast, and will remain on scene for the next day or two to continue their investigation.

The blast was felt more than a mile away. Mr Davis referred to it as "the largest bombing scene" the FBI had seen in southern California in recent memory, and said police are working to survey evidence that is scattered 100 feet away from the explosion "in every direction".

Several buildings were damaged in the blast, including the ACR fertility clinic with images showing a portion of its wall had been entirely destroyed.

In addition to the deceased suspect, four others were injured in the blast. Palm Springs police said they have since been released from hospital.

The ARC said the explosion occurred in the car park near its building.

The fertility clinic said their lab, including all eggs and embryos, remained "fully secure and undamaged".

But Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the clinic, told the Associated Press that the clinic's office was damaged.

"I really have no clue what happened," he said. "Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients."

According to its website, the ARC clinic is the first full-service fertility centre and IVF lab in the Coachella Valley.

It offers services including fertility evaluations, IVF, egg donation and freezing, reproductive support for same-sex couples and surrogacy.

Police have been given more time to question a second man arrested in connection with alleged arson attacks at properties connected to Sir Keir Starmer.

The 26-year-old was arrested on Saturday afternoon at London Luton Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

The arrest relates to three incidents: a vehicle fire in Kentish Town, a fire at the prime minister's private home on the same street, and a fire at an address where he previously lived in north-west London.

On Sunday, a warrant of further detention was obtained at Westminster Magistrates' Court, meaning the man can be detained for an additional 36 hours, the Metropolitan Police said.

Another man, Roman Lavrynovych, 21, who the BBC understands is a builder and roofer, appeared in court on Friday and is accused of three counts of arson with intent to endanger life following the fires.

He entered no pleas and was remanded in custody until a further hearing at the Old Bailey scheduled for 6 June.

The 26-year-old man is in police custody in London.

The Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command has led the investigation because of the connection with a high-profile public figure.

Emergency services responded to a fire in the early hours of Monday at the Kentish Town home where Sir Keir lived before becoming prime minister and moving into 10 Downing Street.

Damage was caused to the entrance of the property, which it is understood Sir Keir still owns and rents out, but nobody was hurt.

On 8 May, a car Sir Keir sold to a neighbour in 2024 caught fire on the same street.

In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, where the prime minister previously lived.

One person was helped to safety via an internal staircase by crews wearing breathing apparatus, the fire brigade previously said.

Ukraine says Russia has launched its biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began, targeting several regions including Kyiv, where one woman died.

Russia had launched 273 drones by 08:00 Sunday (05:00 GMT) targeting the central Kyiv region and Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the east, Ukraine's air force said.

The barrage has come just a day before a scheduled call between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US President has been urging a ceasefire.

Russian and Ukraine had their first face-to-face talks in more than three years on Friday in Turkey, but it yielded little besides a new prisoner swap deal.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he and leaders of Britain, France, and Poland would have a virtual meeting with Trump before his conversation with Putin on Monday morning.

On Sunday, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia had launched a record number of drones, including Shahed attack drones, of which 88 were intercepted and another 128 went astray "without negative consequences".

The strikes killed one person on the outskirts of Kyiv, and injured at least three others, officials reported.

The previous largest drone attack from Russia had taken place on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion on 23 February, when Moscow launched 267 drones.

Ukraine officials said Saturday night's strikes showed Russia had no intention of stopping the war, despite international pressure for a ceasefire.

"For Russia, the negotiations [on Friday] in Istanbul are just a pretence. Putin wants war," said Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president.

Volodymyr Zelensky was at the Vatican on Sunday where he had a private meeting with Pope Leo following the new pontiff's inauguration mass. He also briefly met US Vice President JD Vance in Rome.

Tom Cruise is back in action this week, with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning hitting cinemas.

But that's not all the week has in store.

Sex Education's Connor Swindells stars in new BBC drama series The Bombing of Pan Am 103, Nicole Kidman returns for season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers, and Peter Andre's controversial film Jafaican is coming out.

Read on for what's coming up this week...

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

The highly anticipated eighth film in the long-running Tom Cruise-led spy action series is almost here.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits cinemas on Wednesday, and sees Ethan Hunt - played by Cruise - racing against time to find a rogue artificial intelligence, known as the Entity, that can destroy mankind.

Many reviews have been positive. Writing in the Independent, Clarisse Loughrey awarded it four stars, saying she "adored it".

Peter Bradshaw awarded it five stars in the Guardian, labelling it "wildly entertaining".

But Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic David Rooney was more critical, calling it "a disappointing farewell with a handful of high points courtesy of the indefatigable lead actor".

As ever, there's loads of focus on the stunts, with the film's social media account and trailer promoting plenty of impressive sequences, including 62-year-old Cruise hanging precariously off a helicopter.

"Your jaw will detach and your palms will leak sweat," writes John Nugent in Empire.

How Lockerbie changed how air disasters are handled

By Helen Bushby, entertainment reporter

The BBC's new six-part drama, The Bombing of Pan Am 103, is about the UK's most deadly terror atrocity, when a bomb in the hold of a flight from London to New York exploded above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people in 1988.

A drama exploring what happened in the aftermath, a co-production with Netflix, reveals the painstaking police operation to find out who was behind the bombing. But it also explores the impact on victims' families, and the huge kindness they were shown by the town's volunteers.

Its cast includes Sex Education star Connor Swindells, Peter Mullan, Phyllis Logan, Patrick J Adams, Merrit Wever and Lauren Lyle.

Kara Weipz, whose brother Richard died in the crash, told me that "lessons were learned" in how victims' families were treated, after she and her family found out her brother Richard was among the dead via a news report. They should, of course, have been told in person.

She hopes the drama will generate some positivity after so much pain and anguish.

It's on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from 9pm this Sunday, and will be on Netflix globally at a later date.

Jafacian starring Peter Andre is out

There has been a fair bit of controversy over Peter Andre's new film, Jafaican, which hits cinemas on Tuesday.

The trailer saw the Mysterious Girl singer donning long dreadlocks and speaking in a Jamaican accent, which led to criticism from some viewers.

Andre did not respond to a request for comment from BBC News.

But speaking to Australia's Channel 7, he addressed the backlash, saying: "I think it's good to get all sorts of feedback."

"For me, it's acting - I get to do something light-hearted, something funny. Something that is the kind of film I'd want to watch."

The film tells the tale of a small-time crook, Gazza, who hatches a scam in a bid to secure £35,000 for his grandmother's care.

With just 21 days to pull it off, he must immerse himself in Jamaican culture to con his way between London and Jamaica.

From Babygirl to Nine Perfect Strangers

Nicole Kidman is having quite the year.

She's already been in Babygirl, a film that sparked hundreds of memes, and starred alongside Succession's Matthew Macfadyen in Holland.

Now, she's back for season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers, which drops on Prime Video on Thursday.

The show sees nine new strangers, connected in ways they could never imagine, invited by celebrity wellness guru Masha Dmitrichenko (played by Kidman) to join a wellness retreat in the Austrian Alps.

Over the course of a week, she takes them to the brink.

The first season got mixed reviews, with some critics noting it suffered from comparison with The White Lotus.

But others praised the performances, with this season's cast also including Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), Lena Olin (Alias) and Annie Murphy (Schitt's Creek).

Other highlights this week

• Good Bad Billionaire, about LeBron James, is out on BBC Sounds on Monday
• The International Booker Prize winner is announced on Tuesday
• The Hay Festival starts on Thursday
• The Ivor Novello Awards take place on Thursday
• Fountain of Youth, directed by Guy Ritchie, drops on AppleTV+ on Friday
• Lilo & Stitch is out in cinemas on Friday
• Clarkson's Farm, season 4, begins on Prime Video on Friday
• The Smuggler, a Radio 4 podcast, is out on Saturday on BBC Sounds
• Radio 1's Big Weekend takes place in Liverpool next weekend
• Diddy On Trial is out now on BBC Sounds and drops weekly on iPlayer

A member of the UK's Eurovision entry Remember Monday says she lost her wedding ring in video posted the morning after their Basel performance.

"I've lost my wedding ring and my engagement ring," Holly-Anne Hull said in a video posted on Instagram on Sunday.

In the video, the singer and her two bandmates are sat on a plane, seemingly leaving Switzerland. Hull did not give further details, such as where she might have lost the ring or when it happened.

The country-pop trio came 19th of the 26 countries in this year's Eurovision Song Contest with their track What The Hell Just Happened.

Hull got married in Surrey in June 2023.

In the video posted on Instagram the group parodied the lyrical style of their entry - which tells the tale of the morning after a big night out - saying they are still wearing "last night's hair gel" and their knees hurt. before Hull jokes: "I'm gonna have a breakdown 'cause I've lost my wedding ring."

Lauren Byrne adds the trio are "so grateful" for their supporters and Charlotte Steele says their fans are "amazing".

Remember Monday got 88 points on Saturday night, all of which were from the jury - like last year's entrant Olly Alexander, the band received no points from the public vote.

Austrian singer JJ won the competition with his electro-ballad Wasted Love, with a total of 436 votes, after beating Israel at the last minute.

Estonia came third, followed by Sweden, which had been the frontrunner going into Saturday night. The country's entrant, comedy troupe KAJ, performed Bara Bada Bastu, a song about saunas, which has has topped Swedish music charts for three months.

Though Remember Monday's song performed poorly with the public vote, the group came joint 10th in the jury vote, along with Finland, and Italy even gave the UK its 12 points.

The trio, who all have musical theatre backgrounds, danced around a giant chandelier in Bridgerton-inspired colourful dresses as they sang about the aftermath of a big night out, where they lost their keys, broke their heels and went to bed in their make-up. The BBC's music correspondent Mark Savage wrote that the band "got a lot of things right" and "hit every harmony in their song... with pinpoint precision".

But the public was less convinced. Only one other country, host nation Switzerland, got zero from the public vote.

Remember Monday, who met at sixth-form college in Farnborough studying performing arts, have been friends for 12 years, and quit their jobs in late 2023 to be in the band full-time. They were announced as the UK's Eurovision entry in March.

Earlier this month the group announced a UK and Ireland tour, and are performing at events including the Capital Summertime Ball, Latitude festival and the Isle of Wight Festival this summer.

They called Saturday night "one of the most surreal and emotional moments of our lives".

Subjected to brutal bullying as a child, Amit Ghose says he still has to deal with constant staring, pointing and comments, and has even been refused service in a cafe because of his face.

The 35-year-old from Birmingham described how visiting an independent coffee shop in London recently "everyone was staring at me, and it was like they'd almost seen a ghost".

"The person serving looked at me and said: 'Oh, we're not serving any more'.

"She turned around and walked off. But clearly, clearly they were still serving."

Amit was born with Neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow along nerves.

But after "learning acceptance" of his facial disfigurement he now shares his motivational story in schools with the aim of helping children "embrace their personalities and celebrate who they are".

Another recent experience of abuse spurred him on to self publish a children's book, Born Different.

"I had a couple of individuals come over to me in a park and ask me what happened to my face, and I thought they were just being curious," he said.

"But actually they started laughing, giggling, saying: 'Oh my God, if I had a face like you I wouldn't even come out my house'."

He said the encounter "really upset" him, "and I thought to myself, I need to do something about this. I need to get this book out. Now is the right time".

"If I had this book when I was a young child, I think it would have helped me."

Amit had his left eye surgically removed at the age of 11, leading to further facial disfigurement as well as abuse and bullying.

In the run up to Halloween one year, a child at school told him "you don't need a Halloween mask, you've got one for life", he recalled.

"That broke me to the point where I did not accept the left hand side of my face," he said.

"For a very, very long time I hid the face, I just was not comfortable showing it to the world at all."

Looking back, he said he had not understood the depth of depression and anxiety he experienced then.

"Other children not wanting to come and sit next to me or hiding behind their parents all had a mental effect on me," he said.

At school, cricket was his passion and it was through playing the game that he eventually made friends.

"Cricket helped me become Amit, that boy who plays cricket, from Amit, the boy who has a funny face," he explained.

But, he said, even as an adult he still experienced "constant staring".

"The pointing, the tapping the friend next to them saying 'have you seen that guy's face', that is also constant," he said.

"But there is kindness out there as well, and that needs highlighting."

'This is me, take it or leave it'

It was his wife Piyali who eventually taught him the "art of acceptance," he explained.

"Really that I've got to accept myself before others can accept me," he added.

She also persuaded him to start sharing his story on social media.

"I thought TikTok was all about singing and dancing, and I thought maybe not, but she convinced me.

"I created a video and I said to the world: 'I want to take you all on a journey to help and support and inspire you using my lived experiences.'"

He started his account in early 2023, and has since gone on to gain almost 200,000 followers and millions of likes.

"Me helping people on social media by sharing my story has helped me become more accepting of myself.

"Now I say to the world, this is me, take it or leave it."

At about the same time, he left his job at a law firm to take up motivational speaking full time.

Helping young people felt so much more important, he said.

He is also about to launch a podcast in which he speaks to others who have had similar experiences, including Oliver Bromley who was ejected from a restaurant because staff said he was "scaring the customers".

"We're going to have lots of fun and inspire a lot of people," he said.

"Disability or no disability, visible difference or no visible difference, we all have insecurities, we all have things that we're faced with, and challenges we're faced with.

"I just want to give this narrative to people that if we truly celebrate who we are, accept who we are, fall in love with who we are, then we can be more confident."

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Pope Leo XIV is to meet the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Vatican has said after his inauguration Mass.

The new Catholic leader highlighted his concerns about the war in Ukraine in his prayer at the end of the service, saying "the martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen".

The Pope spoke to a crowd of thousands in St Peter's Square to warn against marginalisation of the poor and autocracy.

Zelensky, US Vice President JD Vance and the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among dignitaries in attendance.

The pontiff was seen shaking hands with Zelensky, as well as other dignitaries.

He used his Mass to criticise "hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalises the poorest".

He also said he would seek to govern "without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat".

Thousands of pilgrims stood in reverence as the pope received the symbols of office, blessed the people and issued a strong call for unity.

Before the Mass, there were cheers from the crowd when the pontiff appeared in his popemobile as it drove around St Peter's Square and down Via della Conciliazione to the river Tiber and back.

There was a strong sense of excitement in the square. Michelle, from Germany, told the BBC she "came on purpose to see the Pope".

"I arrived yesterday in the morning and I'm leaving in a few hours, so I don't have much time. It's very crazy because there's so many people. I wanted to see the Pope."

Many of the tens of thousands attending were Catholics, but tourists also came to be part of the historic occasion.

Joe from Missouri in the United States said: "We're on vacation, but it's great timing. We're here to see the Pope's inaugural mass. It's very special. I'm glad we came early."

He said he was "extra proud" to see the first Pope from the United States. "That was a surprise. He's gonna be a wonderful Pope. I am not Catholic, but I grew up Catholic, but this is just inspiring no matter what denomination of Christian you are."

Also in the crowds was Pia, from Chile, a professor of philosophy at a the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. She told the BBC she felt there was "a new hope in the church".

Pia said that among the Pope's first words when he was elected was "Let the peace be with you", the words of Jesus. And then he said "don't be afraid".

"He knows what the world and the church needs. A church that is preaching hope, preaching peace. I think many people are waiting for that," she said.

The Pope's official inauguration followed the Mass, with a pallium garment - a white woolen band - placed on the pope's shoulders, and fixed in place with three pins to represent the nails on the cross.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines then placed on the pope's finger the Ring of the Fisherman, a symbol of the papacy which bears an image of St Peter.

Pope Leo then took the book of the gospels to bless the people.

The streets of Liverpool were awash with blue as Everton fans said a final farewell to Goodison Park.

The famous football club's stadium hosted its final home fixture with Sunday's clash with Southampton, a ritual that has played out since 1886.

Here is a selection of striking images from a day to remember for the Toffees fans and the city as a whole.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

The UK's strawberry season is off to a "stonking start", according to one grower, with warm days and cooler nights meaning they are sweeter than usual.

Marion Regan, managing director of Kent-based Hugh Lowe Farms, told the BBC that a "glorious spring" this year had contributed to a "really good crop" of the fruit.

That is good news for strawberry lovers, including those attending Wimbledon this year - one of Hugh Lowe Farms' clients.

This spring is currently ranking as the driest in over a century, according to the Met Office, with the Environment Agency recently warning there is a "medium" risk of a summer drought.

Ms Regan, who has been growing strawberries for more than 50 years, said she was noticing that this year's were a "good size" so far but that the "most marked thing" was their sweetness.

A combination of warm days and cool nights are known to make strawberries sweeter. The lower night temperatures allow them to rest and put the energy they have gained during the day into producing more natural sugars.

However, Ms Regan said it remained to be seen what the rest of their growing season - which lasts until November - would bring.

Asked about the warnings over potential drought conditions, she said that she, like all good soft fruit growers, have irrigation systems in place to mitigate the effects of extreme weather and to ensure their crops get a steady supply with water.

Nevertheless, some help from mother nature would not go amiss.

"All farmers could do with the rain, it would be nice," she added.

Pauline Goodall, a strawberry farmer from Limington in Somerset, told the BBC earlier this month that a warmer than average start to May was having a noticeable effect on the timing of this year's harvest.

"They're just ripening at a phenomenal rate," she said of her strawberries.

The Summer Berry Company, based in Colworth near Chichester, recently said that the warmer weather had helped increase its production to 200 tonnes – 50 tonnes more than by the same time last year - and that the plants were producing "lush-sweet tasting fruit".

This all bodes well for consumers keen to get their berry fix over summer, but how should we be making the most of these sweet flavours?

While some people may prefer to keep it classic with cream, there are other options available for those who are looking to be more adventurous.

According to the BBC Food, a little black pepper or balsamic vinegar helps to give them more flavour, while pairing them with some form of chilli can help balance the flavours out.

This year marks a very different start to the strawberry-growing season than in 2024, when the fruit was delayed in ripening following one of the wettest winters on record. Scientists have said climate change was a major factor in this weather.

It is also well-established that human-caused climate change is making spells of hot weather more likely, and that hot days have become more common in the UK.

Over the decade 2014-2023, days exceeded 28C more than twice as often as the 1961-1990 average, according to the Met Office.

BBC Weather forecaster Chris Fawkes said the coming week should provide some good strawberry-growing weather with long spells of sunshine and cool nights.

A few showers could come in the first half of the week, and some could turn to thunder and hail, which would not be welcomed by growers although the risk to individual farms would be very low.

A change in weather patterns next weekend and the following week would lead to rain becoming widespread, which would "probably welcomed by farmers given that this spring is likely to be the driest in over a century", he added.

A 16-year-old boy has died after a disturbance at Irvine Beach in North Ayrshire.

Police Scotland said the teenager, from East Kilbride, was seriously injured at about 18:45 on Saturday.

He was taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock but died from his injuries on Sunday.

Det Ch Insp Campbell Jackson said an extensive investigation was under way to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death.

He added: "Our officers are supporting the boy's family at this very difficult and heartbreaking time."

The senior officer confirmed that a number of people were on the beach during one of the warmest days of the year.

He said: "We believe several of them were filming at the time and may have footage of what happened."

Members of the public with any information about the incident are being urged to contact Police Scotland.

The force said extra patrols would be carried out on the popular beach in a bid to reassure the public.

On Saturday, a 16-year-old was charged with attempted murder after a teenager was stabbed during a large scale disturbance on Portobello beach in Edinburgh.

All three public hospitals in north Gaza have been put "out of service", the Hamas-run health ministry has said, as Israel continues its offensive to seize areas of the territory.

The ministry said on Sunday Israeli forces had besieged the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, "with heavy fire... preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies".

The hospital was the last in the north to be operating, it said.

Israel's military on Saturday announced the launch of "Operation Gideon's Chariot", amid the deadliest wave of strikes in Gaza in months.

Hamas offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian official told the BBC after new negotiations were held on Saturday.

The health ministry said on Sunday: "After the destruction of Beit Hanoun Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital being put out of service, all public hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service."

Pope Leo XIV is to meet the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Vatican has said after his inauguration Mass.

The new Catholic leader highlighted his concerns about the war in Ukraine in his prayer at the end of the service, saying "the martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen".

The Pope spoke to a crowd of thousands in St Peter's Square to warn against marginalisation of the poor and autocracy.

Zelensky, US Vice President JD Vance and the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among dignitaries in attendance.

The pontiff was seen shaking hands with Zelensky, as well as other dignitaries.

He used his Mass to criticise "hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalises the poorest".

He also said he would seek to govern "without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat".

Thousands of pilgrims stood in reverence as the pope received the symbols of office, blessed the people and issued a strong call for unity.

Before the Mass, there were cheers from the crowd when the pontiff appeared in his popemobile as it drove around St Peter's Square and down Via della Conciliazione to the river Tiber and back.

There was a strong sense of excitement in the square. Michelle, from Germany, told the BBC she "came on purpose to see the Pope".

"I arrived yesterday in the morning and I'm leaving in a few hours, so I don't have much time. It's very crazy because there's so many people. I wanted to see the Pope."

Many of the tens of thousands attending were Catholics, but tourists also came to be part of the historic occasion.

Joe from Missouri in the United States said: "We're on vacation, but it's great timing. We're here to see the Pope's inaugural mass. It's very special. I'm glad we came early."

He said he was "extra proud" to see the first Pope from the United States. "That was a surprise. He's gonna be a wonderful Pope. I am not Catholic, but I grew up Catholic, but this is just inspiring no matter what denomination of Christian you are."

Also in the crowds was Pia, from Chile, a professor of philosophy at a the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. She told the BBC she felt there was "a new hope in the church".

Pia said that among the Pope's first words when he was elected was "Let the peace be with you", the words of Jesus. And then he said "don't be afraid".

"He knows what the world and the church needs. A church that is preaching hope, preaching peace. I think many people are waiting for that," she said.

The Pope's official inauguration followed the Mass, with a pallium garment - a white woolen band - placed on the pope's shoulders, and fixed in place with three pins to represent the nails on the cross.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines then placed on the pope's finger the Ring of the Fisherman, a symbol of the papacy which bears an image of St Peter.

Pope Leo then took the book of the gospels to bless the people.

Former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson has announced the birth of her twin daughters.

In a post on Instagram, the 33-year-old said that two girls were born prematurely at 31 weeks on Thursday but said they were "healthy and fighting strong".

Nelson said her and her partner Zion Foster were "so blessed" and had "never felt more in love", sharing pictures of them holding the girls in hospital.

They have been named Ocean Jade and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster.

Nelson wrote: "So, our beautiful baby girls decided to come at 31 weeks plus five days.

"It all happened so quickly, but we are so blessed that they are here with us, healthy and fighting strong. We've never felt more in love."

Nelson previously revealed she had experienced rare complications during the twin pregnancy, which was first announced in January.

In March, she said she had undergone a "successful" operation to prevent complications related to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).

The condition is caused by abnormal connecting blood vessels in the twins' placenta which leads to an imbalanced blood flow from one twin, known as the donor, to the recipient twin, leaving one baby with a greater blood volume than the other.

According to the NHS website, it affects 10% to 15% of identical twins who share a placenta, and can have serious consequences.

Shortly after the surgery in March, Nelson said: "The TTTS has cleared up, the operation was a success, which is just absolutely incredible. We are so, so lucky to have the most amazing doctors."

She also revealed that her twins were monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA), meaning they share a single placenta but have their own separate sacs.

Nelson left Little Mix in December 2020, saying she needed to protect her mental health.

She later explained that online abuse - an issue she explored in a 2019 BBC Three documentary - had left her at "breaking point".

Since leaving the band, Nelson has released music as a solo artist, including the single, Boyz, featuring Nicki Minaj, in 2021.

Little Mix, also featuring Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall, formed on the X Factor in 2011.

The group went to record multiple UK top 10 albums and five number one singles, with hits such as Wings, Black Magic and Shout Out to My Ex.

In 2021, they announced they would be taking a break after their 2022 tour but insisted they were not splitting up permanently.

Sixteen-year-old Nimra stood outside, rooted to the spot, as the Indian missiles that had woken her a moment ago rained down on the mosque a few metres from her house in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. She watched one tear the minaret off the top of the building. But she failed to realise she, too, had been struck - in the chest.

When the family reached the relative safety of her aunt's house nearby, someone turned on a phone torch. "My aunt gasped. There was blood on my frock. It was pink and white but now soaked in red. I hadn't seen it before." Again they ran. "I was running but my hand was pressed on my chest the whole time. I didn't want to take it off. I thought if I let go, everything inside me would come out." A piece of shrapnel was lodged near her heart, she later discovered.

A few hours later, in Poonch, Indian-administered Kashmir, a different family was dodging shelling which Pakistan had launched in response to India's missile strikes.

"When the firing began, everyone ran for their lives - children clinging to their parents in fear," said MN Sudhan, 72. "Some families managed to leave for Jammu in their vehicles. We also decided to escape. But barely 10 minutes into our journey, a shell landed near our vehicle. The shrapnel tore through the car. My grandson died on the spot."

"Our future was shattered at that [very] moment," Mr Sudhan said of 13-year-old Vihaan's death. "Now we're left with nothing but grief. I have witnessed two wars between India and Pakistan, but never in my life have I seen shelling as intense as this."

Nimra and Vihaan were among many of the villagers caught up in the deadliest attacks for several years in a decades-long conflict between two of the world's nuclear powers - India and Pakistan. Both sides administer the Himalayan region in part but claim it in full. Both governments deny targeting civilians, but BBC journalists in the region have spoken to families caught up in the violence.

The strike that injured Nimra was part of India's armed response after a militant attack killed 26 people - mostly Indian tourists - last month at a beauty spot in India-administered Kashmir. Police there claimed militants included at least two Pakistan nationals. Pakistan has asked India for evidence of this, and has called for an independent inquiry into who was behind the attack.

What followed was four days of tit-for-tat shelling and drone attacks, intensifying each day and culminating in missile strikes on military bases, which threatened to tip over into full-blown conflict. Then, suddenly, a ceasefire brokered by the US and other international players on 10 May brought the two nuclear powers back from the brink.

Families on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) - the de facto border in Kashmir - told us they had had loved ones killed and property destroyed. At least 16 people are reported to have been killed on the Indian side, while Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, though it remains unclear how many were directly caused by the shelling. We also heard from Indian and Pakistani government insiders about the mood in their respective administrations as the conflict escalated.

In Delhi's corridors of power, the atmosphere was initially jubilant, an Indian government source told the BBC. Its missile attacks on targets in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in Pakistan itself - including the Bilal Mosque in Muzaff arabad, which India claims is a militant camp, though Pakistan denies this - were deemed a success.

"The strikes… were not limited to Pakistani-administered Kashmir or along the Line of Control," an Indian government source told the BBC. "We went deep - even into the Pakistani side of Punjab, which has always been Pakistan's red line."

But the Pakistani military had been prepared, a source from the Pakistan Air Force told the BBC. Days earlier, the Pakistani government said it was expecting an attack.

"We knew something was coming, and we were absolutely ready," one officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said Indian fighter jets approached Pakistani territory and the air force was under instructions to shoot down any that crossed into its airspace or dropped a payload.

Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian jets that night, something India has remained silent on.

"We were well prepared, and honestly, we were also lucky," the source said - his account repeated by two other sources.

But Mr Sudhan, Vihaan's grandfather, said there had been no warning to stay indoors or evacuate. "Why didn't they inform us? We, the people, are caught in the middle."

It is likely that no evacuation orders had been issued because the Indian government needed to keep the military strikes confidential, though the local administration had, following the April militant attack, directed locals to clean out community bunkers as a precautionary measure.

A day after the initial missile strikes, Thursday, both sides launched drone attacks, though they each accused the other of making the first move.

India began to evacuate thousands of villagers along the Indian side of the LoC. Just after 21:00 that evening, the Khan family in India-administered Kashmir decided they must flee their home in Uri, 270km (168 miles) to the north of Poonch. Most of their neighbours had already left.

But after travelling for just 10 minutes, their vehicle was struck by shrapnel from a shell, fatally injuring 47-year-old Nargis. Her sister-in-law Hafeeza was seriously injured. They headed to the nearest hospital, only to find the gates locked.

"I somehow climbed the hospital wall and called out for help, telling them we had injured people with us. Only then did the staff come out and open the gate. As soon as they did, I collapsed. The doctors were terrified by the ongoing shelling and had closed everything out of fear," Hafeeza said.

Hafeeza's sister-in-law Nargis is survived by six children. The youngest daughter Sanam, 20, said the first hospital they went to was not equipped to help, and as they headed to another, her mother died of her injuries.

"A piece of shrapnel had torn through her face. My clothes were soaked in her blood… We kept talking to her, urging her to stay with us. But she passed away on the way."

Since a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021 there had been relative peace in the region, locals told the BBC. For the first time in years, they had been able to live normal lives, they said, and now this sense of security was destroyed.

Sanam, who lost her mother, said: "I appeal to both governments - if you're heading into war, at least secure your civilians. Prepare... Those who sit in comfort and demand war - they should be sent to the borders. Let them witness what it really means. Let them lose someone before their eyes."

Sajjad Shafi, the representative for Uri in the regional government, said he had acted as promptly as possible.

"The moment I got the news that India has attacked, I got in touch with people and started moving them out."

After two days of attacks and counter attacks, the Indian government source said there was now a "clear sense in… power corridors that things were escalating but we were ready.

"We were ready because India had spent the last 10 years acquiring and building strategic military assets - missiles, warheads and defence systems."

On the international stage, there had been consternation that the tensions would not be de-escalated by the US, despite its diplomatic overtures during India and Pakistan's previous Kashmir clashes.

US Vice President JD Vance said a potential war would be "none of our business".

This statement came as no surprise, the Indian government source told the BBC. At that stage, "it was clear the US didn't want to get involved".

By the following day, Friday, shelling had become more intense.

Muhammed Shafi was at home with his wife in Shahkot village in the Neelum Valley, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on the LoC.

The 30-year-old was standing in the doorway, just a few steps away from where his son was playing; his wife standing in their courtyard.

"I remember looking up and seeing a mortar shell coming from a distance. In the blink of an eye, it struck her. She didn't even have time to scream. One second she was there, and the next, she was gone. Her face... her head... there was nothing left. Just a cloud of smoke and dust. My ears went numb. Everything went silent. I didn't even realise I was screaming.

"That night, her body lay there, right in our home. The entire village was hiding in bunkers. The shelling continued all night, and I stayed beside her, weeping. I held her hand for as long as I could."

One of those in a bunker was his niece, 18-year-old Umaima. She and her family were holed up in the shelter for four days, on and off, in brutal conditions.

"There were six or seven of us packed into it," she said. "The other bunker was already full. There's no place to lie down in there - some people stood, others sat. There was no drinking water, no food," with people shouting, crying and reciting prayers in the pitch black.

Also in a bunker, in the Leepa Valley, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir - one of the most militarised and vulnerable valleys in the region - was Shams Ur Rehman and family. It is Shams's own bunker, but that night he shared it with 36 other people, he said.

Leepa is surrounded on three sides by the LoC and Indian-administered territory, so Shams was used to living with cross-border tensions. But he was not prepared for the complete destruction of his house.

He left the bunker at three in the morning to survey the scene.

"Everything was gone. Wooden beams and debris from the house were scattered everywhere. The blast was so powerful, the shockwave pushed in the main wall. The metal sheets on the roof were shredded. The entire structure shifted - by at least two inches.

"A house is a person's life's work. You're always trying to improve it - but in the end, it's all gone in seconds."

Four hours later, back in the Neelum Valley, Umaima and her family also emerged on Saturday 10 May to a transformed landscape.

"We came out of the bunker at seven in the morning. That's when we saw - nothing was left."

As Umaima surveyed the ruins of her village, India and Pakistan's forces that day were trading ever more destructive blows - firing missiles at each other's military installations, which both sides accused the other of instigating.

India had targeted three Pakistani air bases, including one in Rawalpindi - the garrison city that houses the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters.

"This was a red line crossed," said one Pakistani officer. "The prime minister gave the go-ahead to the army chief. We already had a plan, and our forces were desperately ready to execute it… For anyone in uniform, it was one of those unforgettable days."

Pakistan hit back at Indian military installations. On the diplomatic front, this was seen as a moment to highlight the issue of Kashmir on the international stage, an official in the Pakistan foreign office told the BBC.

"It was non-stop. Endless meetings, coordination, and back-to-back calls to and from other countries for both foreign minister and then the prime minister. We welcomed mediation offers from the US, the Saudis, the Iranians, or anyone who could help de-escalate."

On the Indian side, the Pahalgam attack on 22 April had already prompted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to speak to at least 17 world leaders or diplomats, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In most of these conversations, he has tweeted, the emphasis had been on the "cross-border terrorist attack" and focused on building a case to hold the perpetrators accountable for the attack.

Then, on Saturday afternoon local time, in the aftermath of the latest missile exchanges, came a diplomatic breakthrough out of nowhere. US President Donald Trump took to social media to reveal that a ceasefire had been agreed.

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE.

"Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence," he wrote on social media platform Truth Social.

India has since downplayed Washington's role in the ceasefire and it has rejected that trade was used as a lever to achieve this.

Behind the scenes, US mediators, diplomatic backchannels and regional players, including the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia, had proved critical in negotiating the climbdown, experts say.

"We hit Pakistani strategic bases deep inside their territory and that must have worried the US," the Indian government source believes.

In Pahalgam, the site of the militant gun attack that sparked the crisis, the search is still on for the perpetrators.

Vinay Narwal, a 26-year-old Indian Navy officer, was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when he was killed. He had got married just a week before the attack.

A photo of Vinay's wife Himanshi, sitting near her husband's body following the attack, has been widely shared on social media.

His grandfather Hawa Singh Narwal wants "exemplary punishment" for the killers.

"This terrorism should end. Today, I lost my grandson. Tomorrow, someone else will lose their loved one," he said.

A witness to the attack's aftermath, Rayees Ahmad Bhat, who used to lead pony treks to the beauty spot where the shootings took place, said his industry was now in ruins.

"The attackers may have killed tourists that day, but we - the people of Pahalgam - are dying every day since. They've stained the name of this peaceful town… Pahalgam is terrorised, and its people broken."

The attack was a huge shock for a government which had begun to actively promote tourism in stunningly picturesque Kashmir, famed for its lush valleys, lakes and snow-capped mountains.

The source in the Indian administration said this might have lulled Delhi into a false sense of security.

"Perhaps we got carried away by the response to tourism in Kashmir. We thought we were over a hump but we were not."

The four-day conflict has once again shown how fragile peace can be between the two nations.

Additional reporting by Vikas Pandey in Delhi

When Romania's presidential election was annulled late last year after claims of Russian interference, a far-right conspiracy theorist was blocked from the top job.

Many Romanians were deeply relieved; many others were angry their votes had been stolen.

But six months later, with the country back at the ballot box, another hard-right Euro-sceptic is in the running for president.

George Simion won the first round of the new elections on 4 May by a large margin. Now the former football casual turned nationalist politician is facing off against Nicusor Dan, the liberal mayor of Bucharest.

It's a vote that could see Romania, a member of both Nato and the European Union (EU), take a sharp turn away from the European mainstream.

Both candidates cast their votes on Sunday morning, with Simion saying he had voted for the future "that should be decided only by Romanians, for Romanians and for Romania".

While Dan told reporters he was voting for "collaboration with our European partners and not for an isolation of Romania".

The polls have been too close to call.

Teleorman county is one of Romania's poorest areas and has been solidly social-democrat territory for many years. But earlier this month, 57% of voters here chose Simion for president in the first round of voting.

A couple of hours' drive south-west from Bucharest, entry to the region is announced in blue letters on a rusty metal arch over the main road.

The streets are lined with wild poppies, not campaign posters for the candidates. There's no obvious sign of the elections.

But social media feeds on people's phones are full of political content.

The latest clip to go viral features a folk fantasy world of embroidered tops, prayers and bears and has the slogan "I choose Romania".

"It was an anti-system, anti-mainstream vote," is how Felicia Alexandru of Aperio Intelligence explains the nationwide surge of support for the far-right candidate in the first round.

After more than three decades of the same parties dominating politics, frustration with corruption and poor performance has been building.

"People are so unhappy with what happened in high level politics, this is a vote against that," Felicia says.

The protest vote is not confined to the poorest or most disaffected.

The Comalat dairy firm is unrecognisable from the business Petre Filip launched 25 years ago.

Back then, he would set out at 05:00 every day in his Dacia to drive round farms buying up milk. Then, each evening, he hand-delivered the cheese and yoghurt produced by his three workers to clients.

His old packaging machine now stands in the lobby as a reminder of the early days. But Petre has since been granted €1.5m (£1.3m; $1.7m) in EU funding to modernise and expand his business. It's money he never has to pay back.

"That was a really, really good thing for us," the businessman enthuses, showing off a production line of glistening metal machines in several rooms.

He employs more than 50 staff.

"I like George Simion," staff member Mihaela announces with a smile, while squeezing liquid from big clumps of curd cheese.

She shrugs when I mention the fear in Brussels that he would make EU-Romania relations very turbulent.

"He's on the side of Romanians. He's for the people. To create jobs and better lives," Mihaela replies.

Simion talks a lot about "making Romania great again", echoing the MAGA politicians in the US he so admires. He has the same isolationist approach, too: Romania first, in everything.

When pushed, he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal for his invasion of Ukraine.

But like Donald Trump, he has also pledged to end military aid to Kyiv and he's left the future of Ukraine's vital grain exports via Romania unclear.

Simion has been banned from Ukraine and Moldova for calling for territory there to be part of Romania.

In his latest outbursts this week, he called his election opponent an "autistic, poor guy".

He also accused French President Emmanuel Macron of having "dictatorial tendencies".

Mr Filip says Simion is "far too impulsive" to be president, driven "by hormones not his brain".

But he is so disillusioned by the whole scene he's inclined not to vote at all.

Just up the road in Roșiori de Vede, they are discussing the elections too - and fretting.

Roxana runs a factory making work uniforms, including for the military in another EU country.

Her clients have been calling wondering whether Romania is about to vote for a "pro-Russian" president.

"They want to know whether their orders are safe!" she laughs.

Roxana herself plans to vote for the man people here refer to by his first name, Nicusor, because she likes how he's managed Bucharest as mayor.

She's also deeply disturbed by what she calls Simion's "hooligan" behaviour.

"It's such a bad image for Romania in Europe. I am ashamed," Roxana says, recalling the candidate's insults about Macron this week.

In another recent incident, Simion threatened to sexually assault a female MP, calling her a pig.

"Compare that with a person who won the International Mathematics Olympiad," Roxana says, referring to a competition Dan won in the 1980s. He went on to get a doctorate from the Sorbonne.

Ahead of the second-round vote, Roxana and her friend Andrea have been involved in a grassroots initiative to persuade voters to back Dan.

"I've tried to say why Simion's plan is unfeasible but I don't think I've been super successful," Andrea admits, and says she's "very worried".

"I see what people are saying online and they really believe in Simion and think he's going to shake everything up and take down the system.

"They think it's all bad, but it's not."

Her own candidate, Dan, is emphatically pro-EU and pro-Nato, and his campaign slogan is "honesty".

"I don't promise miracles," is his modest election pledge. "But I promise I will fight."

If that fight fails, and Simion wins, he won't be the only hard-right candidate at the forefront of Romanian politics.

Much of his support comes from those who originally voted for Calin Georgescu, the fringe figure who won the first election in November before it was cancelled on national security grounds.

The two men have often appeared side-by-side since then, and Simion has pledged to make Georgescu prime minister if he's elected.

It's unclear how that could work, given that he was accused of benefiting from "massive" and "aggressive" meddling by Moscow.

"If Simion wins then there will be chaos in politics from Monday," Roxana predicts, including for the economy.

"The question is whether he stays in the shadow of Georgescu, or completely changes perspective," Felicia agrees.

"Is this a campaign strategy, or what he believes in?"

The rear window of a van belonging to world champion darts player Luke Littler was smashed while he took part in an exhibition match.

Littler played in the MODUS Icons of Darts event at Epic Studios in Norwich on Saturday, where he defeated Luke Humphries.

After leaving the event, he found his vehicle had been damaged. Posting to Instagram he said: "Just trying to do an exhibition in Norwich and this happens, absolutely scum of the earth."

Norfolk Police has been approached for comment.

Littler is the youngest-ever darts world champion, and he took the record from Michael van Gerwen in January, aged 17.

Van Gerwen was the previous youngest champion when he won the first of his three world titles in 2014, aged 24.

Littler, who was born in Warrington and moved back to the town when he was six years old, has won 11 senior PDC titles and is also the reigning Premier League and Grand Slam champion.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

All three public hospitals in north Gaza have been put "out of service", the Hamas-run health ministry has said, as Israel continues its offensive to seize areas of the territory.

The ministry said on Sunday Israeli forces had besieged the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, "with heavy fire... preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies".

The hospital was the last in the north to be operating, it said.

Israel's military on Saturday announced the launch of "Operation Gideon's Chariot", amid the deadliest wave of strikes in Gaza in months.

Hamas offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian official told the BBC after new negotiations were held on Saturday.

The health ministry said on Sunday: "After the destruction of Beit Hanoun Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital being put out of service, all public hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service."

A deal that would allow UK passport holders to use EU e-gates at airports is being "pushed for", a government minister has confirmed.

European relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, who is leading negotiations ahead of a UK-EU summit in London, said an agreement to stop people being stuck in border queues "would be a very sensible objective".

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, he also set out his hopes for a deal on youth mobility and said he was "confident" about changes to lower food prices.

Conservative MP Alex Burghart claimed the government's proposed deal with the EU could mean the UK becoming a "rule taker".

The UK and EU will hold their first bilateral summit since Brexit on Monday, described by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as a "really significant moment".

Both parties are hoping to agree deals on a number of issues, including trade and security.

Describing talks as in "the very final hours", Thomas-Symonds said he was focused on jobs, lower household bills and stronger borders.

Asked whether he was confident British travellers would be able to use EU e-gates at European airports, he said: "I'm certainly pushing for people to be able to go through far more quickly.

"I think we can all agree that not being stuck in queues and having more time to spend, whether it's on holiday or work trips, having more time to do what you want ... would be a very sensible objective."

The minister said he was also keen to make progress on lowering food prices by reducing red tape and was confident but added "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed".

He added: "We know we've had lorries waiting for 16 hours, fresh food in the back not able to be exported because frankly it's just going off, red tape, all the certifications that are required, we absolutely want to reduce that."

Burghart told the programme his main concern was the government signing up to EU standards and becoming "a rule taker - one of the things we specifically left behind when we left the EU".

He said the government had not ruled out "dynamic alignment", which would see the UK and EU maintain equivalent regulatory standards on food and trade, despite the UK not being "in the room" when future decisions are taken.

He added: "As the government hasn't ruled that out we have to assume it's very firmly on the table and is about to happen.

"And if it is about to happen, then that is a surrender of some of Britain's sovereignty and we won't stand for it".

On a deal around whether young people from the EU can come to live and work in the UK and vice versa, Thomas-Symonds insisted he was negotiating around "a smart and controlled scheme", adding "nobody is remotely suggesting that's freedom of movement. That's a red line for us".

The minister did not respond directly to questioning on whether there would be a cap on numbers or a specific time limit, but did stress "that control element is hugely important".

He also denied there were plans to exempt student numbers from overall migration figures and added "anything agreed - and I stress this is in sensitive final hours - will be consistent with reducing the level of net migration as we've promised".

Appearing on the same programme, Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller said he was "troubled by the sense the government isn't seizing this moment, in the context of a changed environment, to really go further" on EU relations.

The party's spokesperson for foreign affairs said "setting ourselves on an ambitious path towards a customs union is the best way to give some certainty to British businesses".

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Sir Elton John described the government as "absolute losers" and said he feels "incredibly betrayed" over plans to exempt technology firms from copyright laws.

Speaking exclusively to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said if ministers go ahead with plans to allow AI firms to use artists' content without paying, they would be "committing theft, thievery on a high scale".

This week the government rejected proposals from the House of Lords to force AI companies to disclose what material they were using to develop their programmes.

A government spokesperson said that "no changes" to copyright laws would be "considered unless we are completely satisfied they work for creators".

Generative AI programmes mine, or learn, from vast amounts of data like text, images, or music online to generate new content which feels like it has been made by a human.

Sir Elton said the "danger" is that, for young artists, "they haven't got the resources ... to fight big tech [firms]".

"It's criminal, in that I feel incredibly betrayed," he added.

"The House of Lords did a vote, and it was more than two to one in our favour," he said. "The government just looked at it as if to say, 'Hmm, well the old people ... like me can afford it.'"

On Monday, the House of Lords voted by a 147 majority to amend the Data (Use and Access) Bill to add transparency requirements, which aim to ensure copyright holders have to give permission for their work to be used.

But on Wednesday MPs in the House of Commons voted to reject this change, meaning the bill will continue to go back and forth between the two Houses until they reach an agreement on it.

Sir Elton warned the government was on course to "rob young people of their legacy and their income", adding that he thought the government was "just being absolute losers, and I'm very angry about it".

The singer said that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer needed to "wise up" and described Technology Secretary Peter Kyle as "a bit of a moron".

He said if the government does not change its plans, he would be ready to take ministers to court, saying that "we'll fight it all the way".

Speaking alongside the 78-year-old, playwright James Graham said ministers "do understand the value of creativity... but what's frustrating is either the complacency or the willingness to let Silicon Valley tech bros get it all their own way".

The chief executive of UK music, Tom Kiehl, told the BBC that the government is "on the brink" of offering up the country's music industry "as a sacrificial lamb in its efforts to cosy up to American-based tech giants".

He added that the prime minister "must not sell" the next generation of singers, songwriters, musicians, and music creators "down the river and allow all that talent to be crushed by letting soulless AI bots plunder their work".

Ahead of the vote in the House of Lords, Sir Elton joined more than 400 British musicians, writers, and artists in signing a letter calling on the prime minister to update copyright laws in a way that protects them from artificial intelligence.

Beatles singer Sir Paul McCartney, who also signed the letter, previously told the BBC there was a risk AI would create a "Wild West" in which artists' copyright was not properly protected.

A government spokesperson said it wants the UK's creative industries and AI companies to "flourish, which is why we're consulting on a package of measures that we hope will work for both sectors".

The spokesperson said it was "vital" the government worked through responses to a consultation on proposals to allow developers to use creators' content unless rights holders elected to "opt out".

They added that it was "equally important that we put in the groundwork now as we consider the next steps".

"That is why we have committed to publishing a report and economic impact assessment - exploring the broad range of issues and options on all sides of the debate."

The full interview with Sir Elton John will be on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday 18 January at 09:00 BST.

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Most journalists travelling with the US president don't see much of the interior of Air Force One, the presidential jet.

The press cabin is in the back of the plane, accessible by a rear set of steps and a quick turn of a corner.

To reach the presidential suite at the front of the plane would require negotiating with the armed Secret Service agents in the next-door cabin.

On Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East this week, when the future of the famous plane was a huge talking point, Fox News host Sean Hannity had priority seating and access to the president to conduct an in-flight interview.

But the rest of us in the travelling press pool were consigned to our small section of the plane.

It was a whirlwind trip, hitting three nations in three nights, half a world away. The president described it as an "endurance test" - one that his staff and those of us in the press pool had to manage, as well.

The presidential jet is not a bad way to fly, however. The 14 seats are comfortable, roughly on par with a first-class domestic flight.

There's a bathroom and a table with snacks (including the coveted Air Force One-branded M&Ms bearing the president's signature, which aren't available anywhere else).

• Qatar's Air Force One offer angers Trump supporters
• Is Trump allowed to accept 747 gift?

The cabin has a pair of television monitors - usually tuned to the president's preferred cable news channel (CNN during Joe Biden's term; Fox News for Trump). On occasion, they've been set to a football game or other sporting events.

For longer flights, the on-board kitchen serves plated meals (the president eats from a different, fancier menu). On short hops, there's usually food in a takeaway bag.

But the interior of this famous aircraft could soon undergo a radical refit if, as looks likely, Trump accepts the Qatari offer to supply a new "palace in the sky" - the biggest foreign gift ever received by a US president.

Technically, "Air Force One" is a radio call sign, the designation for any Air Force aircraft with the US president aboard. The small prop plane Lyndon Baines Johnson took from Austin to his Texas ranch in the 1960s was Air Force One, too.

But the Air Force One most people picture, the one featured in the Harrison Ford action film, is the 747-200b with water blue, steel blue and white paint set against a chrome underbody - a colour scheme picked out by First Lady Jackie Kennedy in 1962.

Currently there are two of these 747s in the Air Force passenger fleet, in use since 1990. Needless to say, technology – both in aircraft design and everything else – has come a long way in the ensuing years. The planes have been upgraded, but the costs of maintaining the airframe and engines are growing. The aircrafts are showing their age.

This has clearly irked the current White House occupant – the only president to own his own jet, or for that matter, his own airline, prior to taking office.

"I leave now and get onto a 42-year-old Boeing," he said, exaggerating the plane's age during an industry briefing on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. "But new ones are coming."

Coming, but not soon enough for Trump. During his first term, he touted an updated presidential aircraft, made by Boeing, that was in the works. He even picked out his own colour palette, scrapping Kennedy's design for a red-white-and-blue livery. He proudly displays a model of that jet in the Oval Office.

Originally planned to be delivered by 2021, delays and cost overruns for the estimated $4bn construction programme have made it less likely that the two new planes on order will be available for much, if any, of Trump's second term in office, which expires in January 2029.

He has tasked tech multi-billionaire Elon Musk with speeding up the process and reportedly groused in private that he is embarrassed to travel in such an outdated plane.

That explains why the president has become enamoured with the prospect of a seemingly more immediate solution to his air transport woes – courtesy of the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.

News of Qatar's offer of a lavish $400m 747-8 made headlines last week, but the gift apparently has been in the works for months.

Trump surreptitiously visited the aircraft in question in mid-February, just a few weeks after the start of his second term in office.

Aside from the legal and ethical concerns of such a substantial gift – raised by critics and some allies of the president - converting a foreign 747 for use by an American president creates a number of technical challenges.

The aircraft would have to be made capable of in-flight refuelling and retrofitted with a sophisticated package of communications and security equipment. The current models have systems built to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion.

Such a refitting process, says aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, would take years, until 2030 at least.

"They have to assume the jet has been left unattended in a dangerous place for 13 years," he says. "Which means it's not enough to take the plane apart. You also have to take every single component apart."

The plane would need additional power to run its new systems, and its interior might have to be rearranged. Chances are there's no press cabin in the flying palace as originally designed.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Defense and Security Department, says the costs of such retrofitting could easily run to $1bn.

He adds, however, that Trump could waive some, or all, of the security modifications if he so chooses.

"He's the president," he said.

When the Air Force ultimately does retire its current crop of 747s, it will put to pasture an aircraft that have been part of fabric of American history for decades. One that transported President Bill Clinton, along with former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George W Bush, to Israel for Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in 1995.

After the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, George W Bush took to the skies in Air Force One and stayed aloft for hours, refuelling mid-air, until his security team determined it was safe for him to land and address the nation, before ultimately returning to Washington.

Six US presidents have travelled on these jets, criss-crossing the US and visiting all corners of the globe. One took Biden to Israel just days after the 7 October attack by Hamas.

Trump has effectively employed the aircraft as a campaign device, holding political rallies at airfields and making low-speed passes over the crowds before landing and using Air Force One as a dramatic backdrop for his speeches.

On Trump's recent Mid East trip, military fighters from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE accompanied Air Force One as it flew through their national airspace.

Aging though it may be, Air Force One is still one of the most recognisable signs of American presidential authority and power in the world - a military aircraft that serves a higher purpose.

"It's not made for luxury," says Aboulafia. "It's a flying command post. You're not there to throw parties."

Additional reporting by Max Matza

Sixteen-year-old Nimra stood outside, rooted to the spot, as the Indian missiles that had woken her a moment ago rained down on the mosque a few metres from her house in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. She watched one tear the minaret off the top of the building. But she failed to realise she, too, had been struck - in the chest.

When the family reached the relative safety of her aunt's house nearby, someone turned on a phone torch. "My aunt gasped. There was blood on my frock. It was pink and white but now soaked in red. I hadn't seen it before." Again they ran. "I was running but my hand was pressed on my chest the whole time. I didn't want to take it off. I thought if I let go, everything inside me would come out." A piece of shrapnel was lodged near her heart, she later discovered.

A few hours later, in Poonch, Indian-administered Kashmir, a different family was dodging shelling which Pakistan had launched in response to India's missile strikes.

"When the firing began, everyone ran for their lives - children clinging to their parents in fear," said MN Sudhan, 72. "Some families managed to leave for Jammu in their vehicles. We also decided to escape. But barely 10 minutes into our journey, a shell landed near our vehicle. The shrapnel tore through the car. My grandson died on the spot."

"Our future was shattered at that [very] moment," Mr Sudhan said of 13-year-old Vihaan's death. "Now we're left with nothing but grief. I have witnessed two wars between India and Pakistan, but never in my life have I seen shelling as intense as this."

Nimra and Vihaan were among many of the villagers caught up in the deadliest attacks for several years in a decades-long conflict between two of the world's nuclear powers - India and Pakistan. Both sides administer the Himalayan region in part but claim it in full. Both governments deny targeting civilians, but BBC journalists in the region have spoken to families caught up in the violence.

The strike that injured Nimra was part of India's armed response after a militant attack killed 26 people - mostly Indian tourists - last month at a beauty spot in India-administered Kashmir. Police there claimed militants included at least two Pakistan nationals. Pakistan has asked India for evidence of this, and has called for an independent inquiry into who was behind the attack.

What followed was four days of tit-for-tat shelling and drone attacks, intensifying each day and culminating in missile strikes on military bases, which threatened to tip over into full-blown conflict. Then, suddenly, a ceasefire brokered by the US and other international players on 10 May brought the two nuclear powers back from the brink.

Families on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) - the de facto border in Kashmir - told us they had had loved ones killed and property destroyed. At least 16 people are reported to have been killed on the Indian side, while Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, though it remains unclear how many were directly caused by the shelling. We also heard from Indian and Pakistani government insiders about the mood in their respective administrations as the conflict escalated.

In Delhi's corridors of power, the atmosphere was initially jubilant, an Indian government source told the BBC. Its missile attacks on targets in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in Pakistan itself - including the Bilal Mosque in Muzaff arabad, which India claims is a militant camp, though Pakistan denies this - were deemed a success.

"The strikes… were not limited to Pakistani-administered Kashmir or along the Line of Control," an Indian government source told the BBC. "We went deep - even into the Pakistani side of Punjab, which has always been Pakistan's red line."

But the Pakistani military had been prepared, a source from the Pakistan Air Force told the BBC. Days earlier, the Pakistani government said it was expecting an attack.

"We knew something was coming, and we were absolutely ready," one officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said Indian fighter jets approached Pakistani territory and the air force was under instructions to shoot down any that crossed into its airspace or dropped a payload.

Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian jets that night, something India has remained silent on.

"We were well prepared, and honestly, we were also lucky," the source said - his account repeated by two other sources.

But Mr Sudhan, Vihaan's grandfather, said there had been no warning to stay indoors or evacuate. "Why didn't they inform us? We, the people, are caught in the middle."

It is likely that no evacuation orders had been issued because the Indian government needed to keep the military strikes confidential, though the local administration had, following the April militant attack, directed locals to clean out community bunkers as a precautionary measure.

A day after the initial missile strikes, Thursday, both sides launched drone attacks, though they each accused the other of making the first move.

India began to evacuate thousands of villagers along the Indian side of the LoC. Just after 21:00 that evening, the Khan family in India-administered Kashmir decided they must flee their home in Uri, 270km (168 miles) to the north of Poonch. Most of their neighbours had already left.

But after travelling for just 10 minutes, their vehicle was struck by shrapnel from a shell, fatally injuring 47-year-old Nargis. Her sister-in-law Hafeeza was seriously injured. They headed to the nearest hospital, only to find the gates locked.

"I somehow climbed the hospital wall and called out for help, telling them we had injured people with us. Only then did the staff come out and open the gate. As soon as they did, I collapsed. The doctors were terrified by the ongoing shelling and had closed everything out of fear," Hafeeza said.

Hafeeza's sister-in-law Nargis is survived by six children. The youngest daughter Sanam, 20, said the first hospital they went to was not equipped to help, and as they headed to another, her mother died of her injuries.

"A piece of shrapnel had torn through her face. My clothes were soaked in her blood… We kept talking to her, urging her to stay with us. But she passed away on the way."

Since a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021 there had been relative peace in the region, locals told the BBC. For the first time in years, they had been able to live normal lives, they said, and now this sense of security was destroyed.

Sanam, who lost her mother, said: "I appeal to both governments - if you're heading into war, at least secure your civilians. Prepare... Those who sit in comfort and demand war - they should be sent to the borders. Let them witness what it really means. Let them lose someone before their eyes."

Sajjad Shafi, the representative for Uri in the regional government, said he had acted as promptly as possible.

"The moment I got the news that India has attacked, I got in touch with people and started moving them out."

After two days of attacks and counter attacks, the Indian government source said there was now a "clear sense in… power corridors that things were escalating but we were ready.

"We were ready because India had spent the last 10 years acquiring and building strategic military assets - missiles, warheads and defence systems."

On the international stage, there had been consternation that the tensions would not be de-escalated by the US, despite its diplomatic overtures during India and Pakistan's previous Kashmir clashes.

US Vice President JD Vance said a potential war would be "none of our business".

This statement came as no surprise, the Indian government source told the BBC. At that stage, "it was clear the US didn't want to get involved".

By the following day, Friday, shelling had become more intense.

Muhammed Shafi was at home with his wife in Shahkot village in the Neelum Valley, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on the LoC.

The 30-year-old was standing in the doorway, just a few steps away from where his son was playing; his wife standing in their courtyard.

"I remember looking up and seeing a mortar shell coming from a distance. In the blink of an eye, it struck her. She didn't even have time to scream. One second she was there, and the next, she was gone. Her face... her head... there was nothing left. Just a cloud of smoke and dust. My ears went numb. Everything went silent. I didn't even realise I was screaming.

"That night, her body lay there, right in our home. The entire village was hiding in bunkers. The shelling continued all night, and I stayed beside her, weeping. I held her hand for as long as I could."

One of those in a bunker was his niece, 18-year-old Umaima. She and her family were holed up in the shelter for four days, on and off, in brutal conditions.

"There were six or seven of us packed into it," she said. "The other bunker was already full. There's no place to lie down in there - some people stood, others sat. There was no drinking water, no food," with people shouting, crying and reciting prayers in the pitch black.

Also in a bunker, in the Leepa Valley, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir - one of the most militarised and vulnerable valleys in the region - was Shams Ur Rehman and family. It is Shams's own bunker, but that night he shared it with 36 other people, he said.

Leepa is surrounded on three sides by the LoC and Indian-administered territory, so Shams was used to living with cross-border tensions. But he was not prepared for the complete destruction of his house.

He left the bunker at three in the morning to survey the scene.

"Everything was gone. Wooden beams and debris from the house were scattered everywhere. The blast was so powerful, the shockwave pushed in the main wall. The metal sheets on the roof were shredded. The entire structure shifted - by at least two inches.

"A house is a person's life's work. You're always trying to improve it - but in the end, it's all gone in seconds."

Four hours later, back in the Neelum Valley, Umaima and her family also emerged on Saturday 10 May to a transformed landscape.

"We came out of the bunker at seven in the morning. That's when we saw - nothing was left."

As Umaima surveyed the ruins of her village, India and Pakistan's forces that day were trading ever more destructive blows - firing missiles at each other's military installations, which both sides accused the other of instigating.

India had targeted three Pakistani air bases, including one in Rawalpindi - the garrison city that houses the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters.

"This was a red line crossed," said one Pakistani officer. "The prime minister gave the go-ahead to the army chief. We already had a plan, and our forces were desperately ready to execute it… For anyone in uniform, it was one of those unforgettable days."

Pakistan hit back at Indian military installations. On the diplomatic front, this was seen as a moment to highlight the issue of Kashmir on the international stage, an official in the Pakistan foreign office told the BBC.

"It was non-stop. Endless meetings, coordination, and back-to-back calls to and from other countries for both foreign minister and then the prime minister. We welcomed mediation offers from the US, the Saudis, the Iranians, or anyone who could help de-escalate."

On the Indian side, the Pahalgam attack on 22 April had already prompted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to speak to at least 17 world leaders or diplomats, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In most of these conversations, he has tweeted, the emphasis had been on the "cross-border terrorist attack" and focused on building a case to hold the perpetrators accountable for the attack.

Then, on Saturday afternoon local time, in the aftermath of the latest missile exchanges, came a diplomatic breakthrough out of nowhere. US President Donald Trump took to social media to reveal that a ceasefire had been agreed.

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE.

"Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence," he wrote on social media platform Truth Social.

India has since downplayed Washington's role in the ceasefire and it has rejected that trade was used as a lever to achieve this.

Behind the scenes, US mediators, diplomatic backchannels and regional players, including the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia, had proved critical in negotiating the climbdown, experts say.

"We hit Pakistani strategic bases deep inside their territory and that must have worried the US," the Indian government source believes.

In Pahalgam, the site of the militant gun attack that sparked the crisis, the search is still on for the perpetrators.

Vinay Narwal, a 26-year-old Indian Navy officer, was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when he was killed. He had got married just a week before the attack.

A photo of Vinay's wife Himanshi, sitting near her husband's body following the attack, has been widely shared on social media.

His grandfather Hawa Singh Narwal wants "exemplary punishment" for the killers.

"This terrorism should end. Today, I lost my grandson. Tomorrow, someone else will lose their loved one," he said.

A witness to the attack's aftermath, Rayees Ahmad Bhat, who used to lead pony treks to the beauty spot where the shootings took place, said his industry was now in ruins.

"The attackers may have killed tourists that day, but we - the people of Pahalgam - are dying every day since. They've stained the name of this peaceful town… Pahalgam is terrorised, and its people broken."

The attack was a huge shock for a government which had begun to actively promote tourism in stunningly picturesque Kashmir, famed for its lush valleys, lakes and snow-capped mountains.

The source in the Indian administration said this might have lulled Delhi into a false sense of security.

"Perhaps we got carried away by the response to tourism in Kashmir. We thought we were over a hump but we were not."

The four-day conflict has once again shown how fragile peace can be between the two nations.

Additional reporting by Vikas Pandey in Delhi

'Palace won all the individual battles'

'I'm amazed Haaland gave up a penalty'

'City have another cup final on Tuesday'

When Romania's presidential election was annulled late last year after claims of Russian interference, a far-right conspiracy theorist was blocked from the top job.

Many Romanians were deeply relieved; many others were angry their votes had been stolen.

But six months later, with the country back at the ballot box, another hard-right Euro-sceptic is in the running for president.

George Simion won the first round of the new elections on 4 May by a large margin. Now the former football casual turned nationalist politician is facing off against Nicusor Dan, the liberal mayor of Bucharest.

It's a vote that could see Romania, a member of both Nato and the European Union (EU), take a sharp turn away from the European mainstream.

Both candidates cast their votes on Sunday morning, with Simion saying he had voted for the future "that should be decided only by Romanians, for Romanians and for Romania".

While Dan told reporters he was voting for "collaboration with our European partners and not for an isolation of Romania".

The polls have been too close to call.

Teleorman county is one of Romania's poorest areas and has been solidly social-democrat territory for many years. But earlier this month, 57% of voters here chose Simion for president in the first round of voting.

A couple of hours' drive south-west from Bucharest, entry to the region is announced in blue letters on a rusty metal arch over the main road.

The streets are lined with wild poppies, not campaign posters for the candidates. There's no obvious sign of the elections.

But social media feeds on people's phones are full of political content.

The latest clip to go viral features a folk fantasy world of embroidered tops, prayers and bears and has the slogan "I choose Romania".

"It was an anti-system, anti-mainstream vote," is how Felicia Alexandru of Aperio Intelligence explains the nationwide surge of support for the far-right candidate in the first round.

After more than three decades of the same parties dominating politics, frustration with corruption and poor performance has been building.

"People are so unhappy with what happened in high level politics, this is a vote against that," Felicia says.

The protest vote is not confined to the poorest or most disaffected.

The Comalat dairy firm is unrecognisable from the business Petre Filip launched 25 years ago.

Back then, he would set out at 05:00 every day in his Dacia to drive round farms buying up milk. Then, each evening, he hand-delivered the cheese and yoghurt produced by his three workers to clients.

His old packaging machine now stands in the lobby as a reminder of the early days. But Petre has since been granted €1.5m (£1.3m; $1.7m) in EU funding to modernise and expand his business. It's money he never has to pay back.

"That was a really, really good thing for us," the businessman enthuses, showing off a production line of glistening metal machines in several rooms.

He employs more than 50 staff.

"I like George Simion," staff member Mihaela announces with a smile, while squeezing liquid from big clumps of curd cheese.

She shrugs when I mention the fear in Brussels that he would make EU-Romania relations very turbulent.

"He's on the side of Romanians. He's for the people. To create jobs and better lives," Mihaela replies.

Simion talks a lot about "making Romania great again", echoing the MAGA politicians in the US he so admires. He has the same isolationist approach, too: Romania first, in everything.

When pushed, he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal for his invasion of Ukraine.

But like Donald Trump, he has also pledged to end military aid to Kyiv and he's left the future of Ukraine's vital grain exports via Romania unclear.

Simion has been banned from Ukraine and Moldova for calling for territory there to be part of Romania.

In his latest outbursts this week, he called his election opponent an "autistic, poor guy".

He also accused French President Emmanuel Macron of having "dictatorial tendencies".

Mr Filip says Simion is "far too impulsive" to be president, driven "by hormones not his brain".

But he is so disillusioned by the whole scene he's inclined not to vote at all.

Just up the road in Roșiori de Vede, they are discussing the elections too - and fretting.

Roxana runs a factory making work uniforms, including for the military in another EU country.

Her clients have been calling wondering whether Romania is about to vote for a "pro-Russian" president.

"They want to know whether their orders are safe!" she laughs.

Roxana herself plans to vote for the man people here refer to by his first name, Nicusor, because she likes how he's managed Bucharest as mayor.

She's also deeply disturbed by what she calls Simion's "hooligan" behaviour.

"It's such a bad image for Romania in Europe. I am ashamed," Roxana says, recalling the candidate's insults about Macron this week.

In another recent incident, Simion threatened to sexually assault a female MP, calling her a pig.

"Compare that with a person who won the International Mathematics Olympiad," Roxana says, referring to a competition Dan won in the 1980s. He went on to get a doctorate from the Sorbonne.

Ahead of the second-round vote, Roxana and her friend Andrea have been involved in a grassroots initiative to persuade voters to back Dan.

"I've tried to say why Simion's plan is unfeasible but I don't think I've been super successful," Andrea admits, and says she's "very worried".

"I see what people are saying online and they really believe in Simion and think he's going to shake everything up and take down the system.

"They think it's all bad, but it's not."

Her own candidate, Dan, is emphatically pro-EU and pro-Nato, and his campaign slogan is "honesty".

"I don't promise miracles," is his modest election pledge. "But I promise I will fight."

If that fight fails, and Simion wins, he won't be the only hard-right candidate at the forefront of Romanian politics.

Much of his support comes from those who originally voted for Calin Georgescu, the fringe figure who won the first election in November before it was cancelled on national security grounds.

The two men have often appeared side-by-side since then, and Simion has pledged to make Georgescu prime minister if he's elected.

It's unclear how that could work, given that he was accused of benefiting from "massive" and "aggressive" meddling by Moscow.

"If Simion wins then there will be chaos in politics from Monday," Roxana predicts, including for the economy.

"The question is whether he stays in the shadow of Georgescu, or completely changes perspective," Felicia agrees.

"Is this a campaign strategy, or what he believes in?"

Sixteen-year-old Nimra stood outside, rooted to the spot, as the Indian missiles that had woken her a moment ago rained down on the mosque a few metres from her house in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. She watched one tear the minaret off the top of the building. But she failed to realise she, too, had been struck - in the chest.

When the family reached the relative safety of her aunt's house nearby, someone turned on a phone torch. "My aunt gasped. There was blood on my frock. It was pink and white but now soaked in red. I hadn't seen it before." Again they ran. "I was running but my hand was pressed on my chest the whole time. I didn't want to take it off. I thought if I let go, everything inside me would come out." A piece of shrapnel was lodged near her heart, she later discovered.

A few hours later, in Poonch, Indian-administered Kashmir, a different family was dodging shelling which Pakistan had launched in response to India's missile strikes.

"When the firing began, everyone ran for their lives - children clinging to their parents in fear," said MN Sudhan, 72. "Some families managed to leave for Jammu in their vehicles. We also decided to escape. But barely 10 minutes into our journey, a shell landed near our vehicle. The shrapnel tore through the car. My grandson died on the spot."

"Our future was shattered at that [very] moment," Mr Sudhan said of 13-year-old Vihaan's death. "Now we're left with nothing but grief. I have witnessed two wars between India and Pakistan, but never in my life have I seen shelling as intense as this."

Nimra and Vihaan were among many of the villagers caught up in the deadliest attacks for several years in a decades-long conflict between two of the world's nuclear powers - India and Pakistan. Both sides administer the Himalayan region in part but claim it in full. Both governments deny targeting civilians, but BBC journalists in the region have spoken to families caught up in the violence.

The strike that injured Nimra was part of India's armed response after a militant attack killed 26 people - mostly Indian tourists - last month at a beauty spot in India-administered Kashmir. Police there claimed militants included at least two Pakistan nationals. Pakistan has asked India for evidence of this, and has called for an independent inquiry into who was behind the attack.

What followed was four days of tit-for-tat shelling and drone attacks, intensifying each day and culminating in missile strikes on military bases, which threatened to tip over into full-blown conflict. Then, suddenly, a ceasefire brokered by the US and other international players on 10 May brought the two nuclear powers back from the brink.

Families on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) - the de facto border in Kashmir - told us they had had loved ones killed and property destroyed. At least 16 people are reported to have been killed on the Indian side, while Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, though it remains unclear how many were directly caused by the shelling. We also heard from Indian and Pakistani government insiders about the mood in their respective administrations as the conflict escalated.

In Delhi's corridors of power, the atmosphere was initially jubilant, an Indian government source told the BBC. Its missile attacks on targets in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in Pakistan itself - including the Bilal Mosque in Muzaff arabad, which India claims is a militant camp, though Pakistan denies this - were deemed a success.

"The strikes… were not limited to Pakistani-administered Kashmir or along the Line of Control," an Indian government source told the BBC. "We went deep - even into the Pakistani side of Punjab, which has always been Pakistan's red line."

But the Pakistani military had been prepared, a source from the Pakistan Air Force told the BBC. Days earlier, the Pakistani government said it was expecting an attack.

"We knew something was coming, and we were absolutely ready," one officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said Indian fighter jets approached Pakistani territory and the air force was under instructions to shoot down any that crossed into its airspace or dropped a payload.

Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian jets that night, something India has remained silent on.

"We were well prepared, and honestly, we were also lucky," the source said - his account repeated by two other sources.

But Mr Sudhan, Vihaan's grandfather, said there had been no warning to stay indoors or evacuate. "Why didn't they inform us? We, the people, are caught in the middle."

It is likely that no evacuation orders had been issued because the Indian government needed to keep the military strikes confidential, though the local administration had, following the April militant attack, directed locals to clean out community bunkers as a precautionary measure.

A day after the initial missile strikes, Thursday, both sides launched drone attacks, though they each accused the other of making the first move.

India began to evacuate thousands of villagers along the Indian side of the LoC. Just after 21:00 that evening, the Khan family in India-administered Kashmir decided they must flee their home in Uri, 270km (168 miles) to the north of Poonch. Most of their neighbours had already left.

But after travelling for just 10 minutes, their vehicle was struck by shrapnel from a shell, fatally injuring 47-year-old Nargis. Her sister-in-law Hafeeza was seriously injured. They headed to the nearest hospital, only to find the gates locked.

"I somehow climbed the hospital wall and called out for help, telling them we had injured people with us. Only then did the staff come out and open the gate. As soon as they did, I collapsed. The doctors were terrified by the ongoing shelling and had closed everything out of fear," Hafeeza said.

Hafeeza's sister-in-law Nargis is survived by six children. The youngest daughter Sanam, 20, said the first hospital they went to was not equipped to help, and as they headed to another, her mother died of her injuries.

"A piece of shrapnel had torn through her face. My clothes were soaked in her blood… We kept talking to her, urging her to stay with us. But she passed away on the way."

Since a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021 there had been relative peace in the region, locals told the BBC. For the first time in years, they had been able to live normal lives, they said, and now this sense of security was destroyed.

Sanam, who lost her mother, said: "I appeal to both governments - if you're heading into war, at least secure your civilians. Prepare... Those who sit in comfort and demand war - they should be sent to the borders. Let them witness what it really means. Let them lose someone before their eyes."

Sajjad Shafi, the representative for Uri in the regional government, said he had acted as promptly as possible.

"The moment I got the news that India has attacked, I got in touch with people and started moving them out."

After two days of attacks and counter attacks, the Indian government source said there was now a "clear sense in… power corridors that things were escalating but we were ready.

"We were ready because India had spent the last 10 years acquiring and building strategic military assets - missiles, warheads and defence systems."

On the international stage, there had been consternation that the tensions would not be de-escalated by the US, despite its diplomatic overtures during India and Pakistan's previous Kashmir clashes.

US Vice President JD Vance said a potential war would be "none of our business".

This statement came as no surprise, the Indian government source told the BBC. At that stage, "it was clear the US didn't want to get involved".

By the following day, Friday, shelling had become more intense.

Muhammed Shafi was at home with his wife in Shahkot village in the Neelum Valley, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on the LoC.

The 30-year-old was standing in the doorway, just a few steps away from where his son was playing; his wife standing in their courtyard.

"I remember looking up and seeing a mortar shell coming from a distance. In the blink of an eye, it struck her. She didn't even have time to scream. One second she was there, and the next, she was gone. Her face... her head... there was nothing left. Just a cloud of smoke and dust. My ears went numb. Everything went silent. I didn't even realise I was screaming.

"That night, her body lay there, right in our home. The entire village was hiding in bunkers. The shelling continued all night, and I stayed beside her, weeping. I held her hand for as long as I could."

One of those in a bunker was his niece, 18-year-old Umaima. She and her family were holed up in the shelter for four days, on and off, in brutal conditions.

"There were six or seven of us packed into it," she said. "The other bunker was already full. There's no place to lie down in there - some people stood, others sat. There was no drinking water, no food," with people shouting, crying and reciting prayers in the pitch black.

Also in a bunker, in the Leepa Valley, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir - one of the most militarised and vulnerable valleys in the region - was Shams Ur Rehman and family. It is Shams's own bunker, but that night he shared it with 36 other people, he said.

Leepa is surrounded on three sides by the LoC and Indian-administered territory, so Shams was used to living with cross-border tensions. But he was not prepared for the complete destruction of his house.

He left the bunker at three in the morning to survey the scene.

"Everything was gone. Wooden beams and debris from the house were scattered everywhere. The blast was so powerful, the shockwave pushed in the main wall. The metal sheets on the roof were shredded. The entire structure shifted - by at least two inches.

"A house is a person's life's work. You're always trying to improve it - but in the end, it's all gone in seconds."

Four hours later, back in the Neelum Valley, Umaima and her family also emerged on Saturday 10 May to a transformed landscape.

"We came out of the bunker at seven in the morning. That's when we saw - nothing was left."

As Umaima surveyed the ruins of her village, India and Pakistan's forces that day were trading ever more destructive blows - firing missiles at each other's military installations, which both sides accused the other of instigating.

India had targeted three Pakistani air bases, including one in Rawalpindi - the garrison city that houses the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters.

"This was a red line crossed," said one Pakistani officer. "The prime minister gave the go-ahead to the army chief. We already had a plan, and our forces were desperately ready to execute it… For anyone in uniform, it was one of those unforgettable days."

Pakistan hit back at Indian military installations. On the diplomatic front, this was seen as a moment to highlight the issue of Kashmir on the international stage, an official in the Pakistan foreign office told the BBC.

"It was non-stop. Endless meetings, coordination, and back-to-back calls to and from other countries for both foreign minister and then the prime minister. We welcomed mediation offers from the US, the Saudis, the Iranians, or anyone who could help de-escalate."

On the Indian side, the Pahalgam attack on 22 April had already prompted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to speak to at least 17 world leaders or diplomats, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In most of these conversations, he has tweeted, the emphasis had been on the "cross-border terrorist attack" and focused on building a case to hold the perpetrators accountable for the attack.

Then, on Saturday afternoon local time, in the aftermath of the latest missile exchanges, came a diplomatic breakthrough out of nowhere. US President Donald Trump took to social media to reveal that a ceasefire had been agreed.

"After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE.

"Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence," he wrote on social media platform Truth Social.

India has since downplayed Washington's role in the ceasefire and it has rejected that trade was used as a lever to achieve this.

Behind the scenes, US mediators, diplomatic backchannels and regional players, including the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia, had proved critical in negotiating the climbdown, experts say.

"We hit Pakistani strategic bases deep inside their territory and that must have worried the US," the Indian government source believes.

In Pahalgam, the site of the militant gun attack that sparked the crisis, the search is still on for the perpetrators.

Vinay Narwal, a 26-year-old Indian Navy officer, was on his honeymoon in Pahalgam when he was killed. He had got married just a week before the attack.

A photo of Vinay's wife Himanshi, sitting near her husband's body following the attack, has been widely shared on social media.

His grandfather Hawa Singh Narwal wants "exemplary punishment" for the killers.

"This terrorism should end. Today, I lost my grandson. Tomorrow, someone else will lose their loved one," he said.

A witness to the attack's aftermath, Rayees Ahmad Bhat, who used to lead pony treks to the beauty spot where the shootings took place, said his industry was now in ruins.

"The attackers may have killed tourists that day, but we - the people of Pahalgam - are dying every day since. They've stained the name of this peaceful town… Pahalgam is terrorised, and its people broken."

The attack was a huge shock for a government which had begun to actively promote tourism in stunningly picturesque Kashmir, famed for its lush valleys, lakes and snow-capped mountains.

The source in the Indian administration said this might have lulled Delhi into a false sense of security.

"Perhaps we got carried away by the response to tourism in Kashmir. We thought we were over a hump but we were not."

The four-day conflict has once again shown how fragile peace can be between the two nations.

Additional reporting by Vikas Pandey in Delhi

There could be a second Scottish independence referendum if the public show "overwhelming support" for one, according to Michael Gove.

The former Conservative minister, who sat in the cabinet for most of the period between 2010 and 2024, told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show that he didn't think another referendum was necessary.

But he conceded that the UK government may have to change approach if SNP popularity and support for another vote grows.

Last week, First Minister John Swinney said that he wanted to achieve "demonstrable support" for independence.

UK is a 'living thing'

Gove, who held various cabinet positions under three Conservative prime ministers, was often tasked with overseeing relations between the UK and Scottish government.

While he doesn't think Scottish independence is currently on the agenda, he is warning supporters of the union not to "assume any degree of complacency."

Gove described the UK as a "living thing" and added that politicians had to continually demonstrate that the union was working.

The former minister said that he didn't think a second referendum was "necessary at the moment", but added that if there was "an overwhelming desire on the part of the Scottish people for one then we'd have to review the decision."

When pressed on what would trigger such a change in policy, Gove said that was for the Westminster government to decide.

He added that he believed too much focus on the constitution was bad for all political parties and that governments should "retain confidence" by concentrating on the economy, health and transport.

Gove was part of a government that rejected requests from the Scottish government for a second referendum.

He denied that this was anti-democratic and insisted that Scotland had "more important" issues to deal with.

Gove now suggests that the likelihood of a second independence vote was linked to the SNP's ability to improve public services.

"If, for the sake of argument, the SNP make all of those decisions in government in a way that gives people confidence in them then we might be in a different position [on a second referendum]", he said.

Michael Gove and SNP leader John Swinney do not have much in common politically, but they seem to be delivering a relatively similar message on this topic.

Last week, the first minister talked about securing "demonstrable support" for independence.

Swinney compared this to the 1997 referendum for a Scottish parliament, which was backed by around 74% of Scots.

The message seemed to be that independence will move forward when public support demands it in greater numbers.

But the first minister also told BBC Scotland News that it was "completely unacceptable" for the independence movement "to be thwarted by a Westminster government that just folds it's arms and says 'no'."

Gove is no stranger to disagreements with Scottish government ministers.

He insists that relations were broadly cordial and productive when he was in government. But it's fair to say there were times when relationships soured.

Back in 2023, the UK government made the unprecedented decision to veto Holyrood's Gender Recognition Reform bill.

This legislation would have made it easier for trans people to 'self-identify' and change their legally recognised sex, without a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

Gove chaired a committee of ministers who agreed to enact Section 35 of the Scotland Act.

This allows a UK minister to veto a Holyrood bill if they think it would modify laws reserved to Westminster and have an "adverse effect" on how those laws apply.

This power had never been used before and it has not been used since.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that the term 'woman' related to biological sex under the Equality Act.

And Gove believes this proved that deploying the section 35 order was the correct call.

"I think it was absolutely the right decision, and I think it's been vindicated by subsequent events", he added.

Though Mr Gove stressed that the Section 35 provision must remain a "fail safe power" that is "used sparingly".

At the time the Scottish government characterised the veto as a "direct attack" on the Scottish Parliament.

Gove stood down as an MP last year and is now editor of the Spectator magazine. He is due to enter the House of Lords this week as Lord Gove of Torry.

His chosen title is a tribute to the Aberdeen suburb where his family's fish processing business was based.

So how concerned is the native Aberdonian about the state of the Scottish Conservatives?

Some polls have suggested that the emergence of the Reform Party could see them drop from second to fourth place in next year's Holyrood election.

Speaking from the leather couches of his editor's office at the Spectator's London HQ, he tells the Scottish wing of his party "don't panic".

The former cabinet minister deploys an Aberdeen Football Club analogy to assess the situation.

For those not following the twist and turns of Scottish football, the Dons have had an up and down season.

But they still find themselves with a shot at silverware in the Scottish cup final next weekend.

He says the important lesson is "not to change the manager" but to "stick together as a team".

That reassurance may go down well with both UK party leader Kemi Badenoch and Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, who must scale political mountains if they are to deliver success.

But there may yet be a warning contained within Mr Gove's Aberdeen FC comparison.

They have finished the season in fifth place.

That's the sort of fate the Scottish Conservatives are desperate to avoid.

At least 22 people have been injured and three remain in a serious condition after a tall Mexican Navy training ship crashed into New York City's Brooklyn Bridge, the Mexican Navy says.

Footage has emerged showing towering masts of the Cuauhtémoc clipping the bridge as the sailing vessel was passing under the famous structure on Saturday evening.

Parts of the masts reportedly fell on the deck, with US media reporting multiple injuries as members of the crew were standing on the masts at the time of collision.

New York City's Emergency Management (NYCEM) said it was "responding to an incident", without giving any further details. Brooklyn Bridge has not sustained any damage, the mayor of New York said,

The Mexican Navy confirmed that the ship was damaged, saying the incident was being investigated.

Crowds who were watching the ship's trajectory fled from the water's edge as the masts collided with the bridge.

New York City's Fire Department confirmed that authorities were responding to injuries, reports CBS, BBC's US partner.

The department said it had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.

In a statement on X, NYCEM said "the situation is developing and details are not confirmed at this time".

The mayor of New York Eric Adams is at the scene and has been briefed on the situation, CBS reported.

NYPD told residents to avoid the area of Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport in Manhattan, and Dumbo in Brooklyn.

"Expect heavy traffic and a large presence of emergency vehicles in the surrounding area," police said on X.

Media reports say the Cuauhtémoc had more than 200 crew on board.

It was in New York City on a goodwill visit.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Oh no, not again.

For the third year in a row, the UK has crashed out at Eurovision, taking 19th place out of a possible 26.

It feels particularly cruel this time because our contestants, Remember Monday, got a lot of things right.

Most notably, they could sing – and I mean, really, really sing.

Lauren, Holly and Charlotte hit every harmony in their song, What The Hell Just Happened, with pinpoint precision, drawing on a decade of West End experience that's seen them star in everything from Matilda to Phantom Of The Opera.

After toe-curling performances from Olly Alexander in 2024 and Mae Muller in 2023, their vocals were as strong as a lion's roar. So strong, in fact, that they caught the attention of former Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst.

"Harmonising on the Eurovision stage has hardly worked out in the past, but they're spot on," he enthused before the final.

"Their confidence is incredible. You immediately trust them, because when you feel the artist is nervous, you get nervous as a viewer. But they are just so light and so sharp."

So what went wrong?

The chief culprit, if I'm honest, was the song.

A manic mish-mash of musical styles, it sped up in the verses, and slowed down for the choruses, with all the consistency of a jelly in a heatwave.

That's not to say it's a bad piece of writing. Indeed, all of the UK's 88 points came from professional juries of songwriters, whose job it is to recognise compositional craft.

They'll have recognised all the clever British touches the band crammed in – Elton John-style piano crescendos, a Beatles-esque mellotron riff, and a vocal callback to George Michael's Freedom '90.

The lyrics were clever and witty, too. Reminiscent of Katy Perry's Last Friday Night (TGIF), or If I Were a Bell from Guys and Dolls, it was all about the drunken mistakes you make while trying to get over an ex.

"Broke a heel, lost my keys, scraped my knee / When I fell from the chandelier."

In three short minutes, the trio rattled off half a dozen memorable hooks, endowed with the unbreakable bond of their friendship.

But as seasoned Eurovision watcher Jonathan Vautrey noted in a review last month, the song was simply too busy.

"It's hard to latch on to exactly what they're selling when you're too busy reeling from the constant whiplash of hearing an almost brand new song every 30 seconds," he wrote on the Wiwibloggs fansite.

"Although I've been able to settle into the entry overtime, and now appreciate the theatricality of it all, first impressions matter at Eurovision."

That's an opinion I heard more than once. But still, I had hope.

Catching a tram to Basel's St Jackobshalle arena on Saturday, I was stopped by a Swedish woman who'd spotted my UK media pass.

She wanted to tell me how she'd dismissed Remember Monday's song when auditioning this year's Eurovision songs on Spotify. Then she saw their spirited performance in the semi-final "and I understood".

Good enough for one vote, then. So why didn't more people connect with it?

The staging was put together by Ace Bowerman, who is one of the UK's most respected creative directors – responsible for Blackpink's Born Pink world tour and Dua Lipa's lockdown spectacular, Studio 2054.

Speaking before the final, she told me the performance deliberately made a virtue of the girls' friendship.

"As soon as I met them, I was like, 'Please be my friend!'" she told me,

"They are electric people, they have such a special bond. So the one thing I want everybody to take away from the performance is how much fun they are – because the audience will want to be their friends as well."

It was camp and fun, but lacked the scale of Finland's Erika Vikman, who soared above the audience on a giant phallic microphone, or the drama of Austrian winner JJ, who was tossed around the stage in the stormy sea of his own emotions.

"The UK's staging wasn't flat at all but, as with the song, it was maybe a bit too much," says Alexander Beijar, Eurovision reporter at Finnish broadcaster Yle.

"It was like, we have three minutes, and we'll show you everything we can do on this stage: We'll start in bed, we'll dance on a chandelier, we'll strut down the catwalk, and we'll end up in the bed again in the end.

"I think maybe tone it down just a nod for next year.

"Then again, as a Finn, with the biggest microphone you can find in the whole of Switzerland, maybe I shouldn't give advice!"

Was it political?

And what about that wrinkly old Eurovision chestnut: Politics?

Vote trading is an age-old tradition at the contest. Since Sweden first took part in 1958, for example, more than one-fifth of its votes have come from Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.

But the situation is complicated. Political tensions persist in the Balkans, "but the cultural connections seem to have trumped the political divisions", Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, recently told the AFP news agency.

"I would say that this is because these countries do share a music industry."

The UK's music industry isn't particularly well integrated with Europe, tending to ride roughshod over its less influential neighbours.

When it comes to friendly neighbours, our reputation took a hit after Brexit - although Luxembourg has always been a reliable source of votes, for reasons that aren't 100 per cent clear.

But here's the thing: You can only vote for a country in Eurovision, not against it.

Remember Monday were good, but were they good enough to make your personal Top 10?

If so, then great – you'd have given them some points. Otherwise, it's a struggle to accrue any momentum.

In the end, that was Remember Monday's fate: Another zero-point disappointment.

So where does that leave the UK going into next year?

Well, we laid good foundations. Remember Monday didn't come with a copycat Eurodance hit, or an insipid ballad. The vocals were strong. The staging conveyed personality.

Their energy was infectious and they made friends across Europe, becoming great ambassadors for the UK in the contest.

Their 88 jury points almost doubled last year's score. We just have to find a way to get the public vote back on side.

In other words, we shouldn't be too down on the band themselves, as Scott Mills and Graham Norton discussed on Radio 2 this weekend.

"I thought they were spectacular, so I don't really mind where they place, because it's not embarrassing," said Mills.

"I'm with you," Norton agreed. "They're so likeable. Whatever happens, they walk away heads held high."

Mills cautioned against the creeping allure of cynicism.

"There's a section of fans [who] will complain every year, whatever the UK does: 'Oh, the song's too generic, the vocals aren't great.'

"We could send Adele and they'd have something horrible to say.

"But the whole thing about Eurovision is that it's fun and it's joy through music… so please don't spoil it. Go and be miserable somewhere else."

And that's exactly the attitude we need. The UK's never going to attract world-class talent if all we do is look down on the contest and approach it with a defeatist attitude.

Luckily, three people have already put their names in the ring for next year.

"Listen," said Remember Monday's Lauren Byrne when I bumped into her backstage on Thursday.

"If we do really badly, we're just gonna keep coming back until we win."

We'll remember, Remember Monday.

See you in Vienna next year.